Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). Autosomal recessive (incomplete penetrance). Observed in 138 of 266 breeds tested in the Sniff Atlas, with measured carrier frequencies drawn from 242,641 dogs (Donner 2023). Per-dog phenotype outcome depends on penetrance, modifiers, and environment; the carrier frequencies below describe variant prevalence, not disease incidence.
- OMIA identifier
- OMIA:000263-9615
- Inheritance
- Autosomal recessive (incomplete penetrance)
- Source dataset
- Sniff Atlas v1.0.1 / DOI
Top 25 well-sampled breeds (n ≥ 50)
Maximum carrier frequency per breed across variants in the Donner 2023 cohort, with Wilson 95% confidence intervals. The list below is split into well-sampled breeds (n ≥ 50 tested) and small-sample breeds (n < 50, where the Wilson CI typically spans more than 20 percentage points and frequencies should not be compared directly to the well-sampled entries). Frequencies are population-level, not per-litter or per-line.
| Breed | Carrier frequency | n tested |
|---|---|---|
| Fox Terrier Wire | 82.4% | 182 |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 53.3% | 4,364 |
| Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | 51.0% | 2,242 |
| Boxer | 42.1% | 4,552 |
| Bernese Mountain Dog | 26.2% | 955 |
| Pug | 26.0% | 5,154 |
| Chesapeake Bay Retriever | 25.4% | 138 |
| Tibetan Terrier | 23.7% | 95 |
| American Eskimo Dog | 23.5% | 302 |
| Bloodhound | 22.5% | 280 |
| Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier | 21.1% | 607 |
| German Shepherd | 20.4% | 15,645 |
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi | 19.6% | 125 |
| French Bulldog | 19.6% | 13,111 |
| Shih Tzu | 17.1% | 7,527 |
| Biewer Terrier | 14.9% | 184 |
| Finnish Lapphund | 14.9% | 57 |
| Parson Russell Terrier | 14.1% | 181 |
| Boykin Spaniel | 13.6% | 154 |
| Yorkshire Terrier | 13.0% | 8,367 |
| Airedale Terrier | 12.8% | 200 |
| Bulldog Standard | 12.7% | 4,816 |
| Collie | 12.6% | 1,207 |
| Miniature Pinscher | 11.2% | 658 |
| Presa Canario | 9.4% | 64 |
Top 25 of 102 well-sampled breeds with at least one observed carrier shown.
▸ Also observed in 36 small-sample breeds (n < 50)
Frequencies in this section are statistical estimates with wide Wilson 95% confidence intervals (typically >20 percentage points). Treat these as "carriers observed but the true population frequency is not yet measurable" rather than as comparable to the well-sampled entries above.
| Breed | Estimate | n tested |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Terrier | 76.5% | 17 |
| Broholmer | 75.0% | 10 |
| English Toy Spaniel | 75.0% | 2 |
| Bergamasco | 50.0% | 1 |
| Poodle Medium | 50.0% | 1 |
| Portuguese Pointer | 50.0% | 1 |
| Terrier Brazileiro | 30.0% | 5 |
| Sealyham Terrier | 25.0% | 4 |
| Caucasian Shepherd Dog | 23.2% | 41 |
| Pyrenean Mastiff | 20.0% | 10 |
| Wirehaired Vizsla | 16.7% | 3 |
| Komondor | 14.3% | 14 |
| Borzoi | 13.8% | 40 |
| Czechoslovakian Wolfdog | 12.5% | 4 |
| Lakeland Terrier | 12.5% | 8 |
| American Hairless Rat Terrier | 12.2% | 37 |
| German Hunting Terrier | 11.5% | 13 |
| Tibetan Spaniel | 11.5% | 39 |
| Australian Terrier | 11.1% | 9 |
| Stabyhoun | 11.1% | 27 |
| Coonhound Black And Tan | 10.0% | 5 |
| Norwich Terrier | 8.8% | 17 |
| Irish Terrier | 8.6% | 35 |
| American Water Spaniel | 8.3% | 6 |
| Finnish Hound | 8.3% | 36 |
| Korean Jindo | 8.3% | 12 |
| Nordic Spitz | 8.3% | 6 |
| Eurasier | 7.9% | 19 |
| Kerry Blue Terrier | 7.1% | 7 |
| Kuvasz | 7.1% | 7 |
| Silky Terrier | 7.1% | 28 |
| Welsh Terrier | 7.1% | 21 |
| Mcnab | 3.6% | 28 |
| Lapponian Herder | 2.0% | 26 |
| German Pinscher | 2.0% | 30 |
| Lacy Dog | 2.0% | 32 |
128 additional breeds in the Donner 2023 cohort were tested but showed no carriers.
Scope
This record carries the breed-level carrier frequencies from the Donner 2023 cohort. Penetrance data (the fraction of at-risk dogs that develop the phenotype) is not yet quantified for this disease in the Sniff Atlas v1.0.1. The OMIA entry is the authoritative reference for the clinical phenotype, inheritance pattern, and gene assignment.
Predicted disease relevance at the per-dog level is UNPROVEN. Carrier frequency is measured; phenotype outcome depends on penetrance, environment, and modifier loci. Consult a veterinarian for clinical interpretation.
Citations
If you use this record in published work, cite the Sniff Atlas (the published dataset that carries the breed-level carrier frequencies) and the upstream sources:
- Sniff Atlas v1.0.1 for the per-breed carrier frequencies:
Gehring, M. (2026). Sniff Atlas v1.0.1. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20566358. CC-BY 4.0.
- OMIA for the disease definition, inheritance, and gene assignment:
Nicholas, F. W., & Tammen, I. (2024). OMIA. Sydney Informatics Hub, The University of Sydney. https://doi.org/10.25910/2AMR-PV70. Entry: OMIA:000263-9615.
- Donner et al. 2023 for the breed × variant carrier-frequency cohort:
Donner, J., et al. (2023). PLOS Genetics, 19(3), e1010651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651.
Full citation formats (BibTeX, RIS, CITATION.cff) at sniff.world/cite.
Related
- Sniff Atlas v1.0.1 — the source dataset for these frequencies.
- Browse breeds — per-breed Mendelian profiles, including this disease in context.
- OMIA entry OMIA:000263-9615 — authoritative clinical reference.